JJ Audio Mastering Secrets The Pros Don't Want You To Know! By John Rogers AudioMasteringSecrets.com Copyright 2017 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission from JR Mastering, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests please email John Rogers at [email protected]. SongMixingSecrets.com 1 AudioMasteringSecrets.com TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION Audio Mastering Secrets 1 Table Of Contents 2 Who This Book Is For 8 What You Will Learn From This Book 9 About The Author 10 Testimonials 11 AUDIO MASTERING FAQS What Is Audio Mastering? 13 How Does Audio Mastering Compare To Mixing? 14 What's The Main Goal In Audio Mastering? 15 Why Do Songs Need To Be Mastered? 17 Can Anyone Become A Great Mastering Engineer? 18 How Long Does It Take to Master A Song? 19 Should Your Mix Sound Close To A Mastered Song? 20 Does A Radio Ready Mastering Standard Exist? 22 AUDIO MASTERING DEFINITIONS AND CONCEPTS Some Of The Terms I Use In This Book 23 What Is Headroom And Dynamic Range? 24 Why Does A Mix Need Headroom And Dynamic Range? 26 How To Create Proper Headroom In Your Mixes 26 What Is A/B Comparison Listening? 27 What Are Mid-Side Effects Processors? 28 SongMixingSecrets.com 2 AudioMasteringSecrets.com M ASTERING EQUIPMENT FAQ What Hardware Do You Need For Mastering? 2 9 What Software Do You Need For Mastering? 2 9 Which Mastering Software Plugins Do I Recommend? 3 0 Analog Mastering Equipment vs. Digital Software 3 2 THE 8 EFFECTS PROCESSORS USED IN MASTERING Standard 5-Band Equalizer 3 4 Mid-Side 5-Band Equalizer 3 5 Multi-Band Compressor 3 6 Multi-Band Spectral Enhancer (Harmonic Exciter) 3 6 Multi-Band Stereo Widener 3 7 Multi-Band Mastering Reverb 3 8 Loudness Maximizer 3 8 De-esser 4 0 Volume Meter Software 4 0 What Signal Path Should You Use? 4 0 SETTING UP YOUR LISTENING ENVIRONMENT Room Size 4 3 Speaker Choices 4 4 Speaker Placement 4 4 My Personal Speaker Placement 4 5 Learning And Calibrating Your Speakers 4 6 Sound Proofing Your Room 4 7 PROTECTING YOUR HEARING What Is Tinnitus? 4 8 How Is Tinnitus Caused? 4 9 How Did I Get My Tinnitus And How Did It Sound? 4 9 SongMixingSecrets.com 3 AudioMasteringSecrets.com PROTECTING YOUR HEARING Is There A Cure For Tinnitus? 5 0 Can You Mix And Master With Tinnitus? 50 How To Prevent Tinnitus In Everday Life 5 0 How Loud Is Too Loud When Mixing And Mastering? 5 1 How To Protect Your Hearing As A Sound Engineer 5 1 The Rules I Follow During Mixing And Mastering 5 2 THE 18 LAWS OF AUDIO MASTERING Audio Facts Are Facts, Not Just Opinions 5 3 Know The Genre Of Music You're Working On 5 5 Don't Do Counter Productive Processes 5 5 Always Think Natural Sound First 5 6 Don't Get Stuck In Familiarity 5 7 Don't Be Afraid To Make Drastic Changes 5 9 Don't Underestimate Your Capabilities 6 0 If You're Going To Miss, Go Slightly Over Not Under 6 1 Certain Actions Have Exponential Affects 6 1 When Using EQ Always Think Cut First 6 2 The Lead Vocal Is Your Main Focus 6 4 Listen To Your Feedback 6 4 Learning Decibel Amounts By Ear 6 6 Working In Decibels And Percentages, Not Fader Slides 6 7 You Have To Make Everything Sound Good 7 0 Let Your EARS Be The Final Judge, Not Your EYES 72 Always Finalize On Fresh Ears 7 2 Mastering Is An Art Form, Treat It Like One! 7 4 SongMixingSecrets.com 4 AudioMasteringSecrets.com The 4-Band Frequency Ranges In Multi-Band Processing LOW (20hz-130hz) 7 7 LOWER-MIDS (130hz-1.5k) 7 8 UPPER-MIDS (1.5k-9k) 7 9 HIGH (9k-20k) 8 0 Closing Thoughts On 4-Band Frequency Ranges 8 1 WORKING WITH SONIC QUALITIES The Sonic Qualities In Audio Mastering 8 3 Adjusting Your Sonic Qualities With A/B Comparison 8 5 How To Handle A Song That Has Erratic Sonic Qualities 8 7 What's The Difference Between EQ And Spectral Enhancement? 9 0 SOLUTIONS TO COMMON MASTERING PROBLEMS Brightness, Tone, Sparkle (UPPER-MIDS & HIGH Band) 9 2 Clarity And Separation (Any BAND) 1 00 Bass Volume, Boominess, Kick Punch (LOW Band or LOWER-MIDS) 1 04 Warmth, Thickness, Presence (LOWER-MIDS And/Or UPPER-MIDS) 1 06 De-essing (On Song's Effects Bus) 1 08 Stereo Width (HIGH Band & UPPER-MIDS w/ Mid-Side EQ) 1 09 Overall Volume 1 11 COMPRESSION MADE EASY Which Compressors Are Used In Audio Mastering? 1 15 What Can Compressors Do In Audio Mastering? 1 16 Working With A Compressor's Threshold And Ratio Settings 1 19 What Are Your Compression Goals By Band? 1 28 The Power Of Thinning Out A Band 1 32 SongMixingSecrets.com 5 AudioMasteringSecrets.com COMPRESSION MADE EASY Why Would You Want Less Dynamic Range? 1 34 Compression Mostly Affects The Loudest Parts Of A Song 1 34 Why Do I Never Remove Compression As A Remedy? 1 36 AUDIO MASTERING PROCEDURES Should You Export Your Mix Or Mix And Master At The Same Time? 1 37 But What If The Mix Is Terrible, Shouldn't You Fix It? 1 38 The Importance of Good A/B Comparison And Mix Evaluation 1 39 Getting Your Songs To Translate Well on Different Mediums 1 40 How To Create A Cohesive CD 1 41 AUDIO MASTERING STEP-BY-STEP Initial Mastering Template Setup 1 44 1. Let's Start The Audio Mastering Session! 1 46 2. What File Types Are Used In Audio Mastering? 1 46 3. Import Files 1 46 4. Visually Evaluate The Song Mix File 1 48 5. Use Your Ears To Evaluate The Song Mix 1 51 6. Slightly Compress Each Of The 4 Bands 1 52 7. Loudness Maximize The Song 1 53 8. Adjust Anything Moderately Sonically Off 1 53 9. Initial Master (Speaker Monitor Volume) 1 54 Initially Setting Up Your Bands 155 10. Setting The UPPER-MIDS (1k - 9k) 1 55 11. Setting The LOW Band (20hz - 150hz) 1 57 12. Setting The LOWER-MIDS (150hz - 1.5k) 1 57 13. Setting The HIGH Band (9k - 20k) 1 58 SongMixingSecrets.com 6 AudioMasteringSecrets.com AUDIO MASTERING STEP-BY-STEP 14. Check Volume And Adjust 159 15. Listen To The Song As A Whole And Adjust 1 59 16. Break Time! 1 60 17. 2nd Master And Tweak On Fresh Ears 1 61 18. The Final Export - Loudness Maximization 163 MASTERING DIFFERENT GENRES How Do I Know The Sonic Qualities For Each Genre? 1 64 Vocals And Instrumentation May Change Your Sonic Approach 1 66 How To Master Different Genres 168 How To Master Metal And Hard Rock 1 68 How To Master Classic Rock 1 70 How To Master Pop-Rock, Punk, Alternative, And Country 1 71 How To Master Hip-Hop And Rap 1 72 How To Master R&B 1 73 How To Master Pop-Dance, EDM, And Synth 1 74 How To Master Movie Soundtrack, Classical, And Jazz 1 75 WORKING WITH CLIENTS Should I Ask Clients For A Reference Song? 1 76 Using The Initial Preview As A Reference 1 77 Go With The Client's Mix Or With What You Know? 1 79 How To Handle A Very Poor Mix 1 80 MY MAIN RESOURCES My Main Resources 1 81 Thank You! 1 83 SongMixingSecrets.com 7 AudioMasteringSecrets.com Who This Book Is For Someone who wants to learn how to correctly master audio to commercial radio standards, either for themselves in their home recording studio or for their business. You want to save a lot of money mastering your own album, or you want to have the necessary audio mastering skills to be able to earn $100,000 a year online like I do! You want all the information needed to become a great audio mastering engineer, presented in a way that's easy to understand. I wrote this entire book in simple plain English (layman's terms). I eliminated all words you never heard of and hi-tech jargon, so anyone at any level can understand and learn from this book as well. You've invested hundreds, if not thousands, of hours into your music. If you're serious about it, now's the time to make a very small financial investment in this book so your music will sound the very best it can! I wrote this book so you can quickly learn (in a matter of weeks) the techniques, tips, and secrets that took me over 17 years to learn! SongMixingSecrets.com 8 AudioMasteringSecrets.com What You Will Learn From This Book I love the saying, "If you give a man a fish he eats for a day, but if you teach a man how to fish he eats for a lifetime!" Well, from this book you will learn how to professionally master audio for a lifetime! Then you can properly master your entire CD, your friend's CD, even open your own audio mastering business. If you're already mastering audio at your own recording studio, I'm sure you will still learn a lot from this book. This book is a learning guide, filled with in-depth information.